BRATTLEBORO — A number of groups and citizens of Vermont and surrounding states will assemble on Saturday, April 14, from noon to 2 p.m., on the Town Common to show support for elected officials of Vermont in their efforts to force Entergy, the owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant in Vernon, to decommission the reactor now rather than extend its original 40-year license.
The rain location for the rally will be Brattleboro Union High School.
Scheduled to speak are Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
“If Vermont wants to move to energy efficiency and sustainable energy, no corporation should have the right to force our state to stay tethered to an aging, problem-ridden nuclear plant,” Shumlin has said.
Statements by former Vermont Gov. Madeline Kunin, consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, and elected officials from around the region will be issued the day of the rally and be available on the Safe and Green Campaign website.
The rally will offer a full schedule of events and family-friendly entertainment, including music from Fenibo, a 12-piece, afro-beat ensemble. Co-sponsoring organizations will staff information tables with representatives available to answer questions.
“And plenty of ice cream will be on hand,” organizers write.
Organizers say that a majority of Vermonters support the state's efforts to force Entergy to close Vermont Yankee, an assertion borne out by several polls and surveys - albeit by a close margin.
In this year's statewide Town Meeting survey organized annually by Washington County Republican State Senator Bill Doyle, 45 percent of respondents said the state should continue to support efforts to close the plant, while 42 percent disagreed. Another 13 percent answered, “Not sure.”
The April 14 rally follows a March 22 protest march of more than 1,200 people from the Town Common to Entergy's corporate offices on Old Ferry Road.